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1. TIAS IS HAVING A BIG YARD SALE!!
2. Stories From our Readers
3. Antique News
4. Your Classifieds
5. Newly listed items
6. Funny Old Stuff
7. Wanted ads. Can you help?
8. A Vintage Recipe
9. A Vintage Recipe Request from a Reader
10. New On line Merchants
11. Helpful Resources For Collectors
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Do you ever bid on eBay auctions? (Please visit our sponsor)
Are you interested in spending less money on your winning bids?
Take a look at: http://bit.ly/Diiw
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TIAS IS HAVING A BIG YARD SALE!!
On Monday December 29th we are going to list a special $9 off coupon code in this newsletter that will allow you to post one FOR SALE classified ad on TIAS for just $1. You can list any antiques or collectibles you would like to sell. Your ad will appear in our online classifieds, on the TIAS Web site and on Google shopping for 1 month. This is a great opportunity for you to clear out your old stuff and bring in some cash as well. So check out your basement and your attic and lets have some fun. We'll feature some of the goodies that are posted in this newsletter as well.
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1) 1) Featured Collectors Club
Highlighting clubs of interest to collectors.

2) After you read these stories, tell us your interesting story. Send your story to newsletter@tias.com and we may publish it here . We want to hear any interesting or unusual stories you would like to share with us
that are related to collecting or anything vintage.
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Editors Note:
We are looking for Holiday related "vintage stories" from when you were a child. Send them to me and we'll publish them in the next newsletter. Email phil@tias.com
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This is a sweet little Christmas story…entirely true!
In December of 1947 Mom went to the hospital in labor with twins on Christmas Eve. Of course that was before sonograms…Mom just Knew she would have twins on Christmas! Before that happened she sent Dad home to put up the tree, with my brother & myself. We could hardly wait because we loved our trees. While listening to the radio…strictly AM of course, the tree started to list and fall; at exactly that moment the radio announcer said “Whoops, watch out for that tree”! All three of us were amazed, Dad caught the tree and righted it. You see, he had forgotten to install the “SKYHOOK” in the ceiling, which was Mom’s idea and it would get tied up so it never fell down. Mom was a very clever woman!
That night just after Midnight she gave birth to twin girls…Holly & Noelle. The First twins born in Buffalo, NY on Christmas!
Mom, Dad; my Brother Bill and Sis Noelle are gone now, leaving Sissy Holly and myself but our hearts are with them always. She agreed that we should share this wonderful true story with all of you. Have a Wonderful Christmas! Phyllis & Holly in Buffalo, NY.

--Another Story--

Two stories from Clare in Riverside CA
1. The Christmas I was in 8th grade, there was a long storm in northern California and the road to our house flooded. My parents had been to town early in the day on Christmas Eve to buy food for Christmas dinner and a tree, but found the water rising so quickly they did not have time to get the tree. Instead, my father took a broomstick, drilled holes along it, and then stuck little branches from a pine tree in our yard in the holes to make our Christmas tree. This is 55 years ago, but we all still reminisce about that wonderful "tree."

2. When I was in the first grade in a church school, the parish priest used to come around the schoolyard at lunch time to talk to the children. One day he spoke to little me, and asked me what my name was. That morning, we had been learning the Lord's Prayer, with the line, "Hallowed be thy name," and I told him that I didn't want to be named "hallowed," that I liked "Mary Ann" better. Since my name was actually Clare, he told my teacher this, and she told my mother, and I have been teased about it ever since!

--Another Story--

One Christmas, it had snowed about 10 inches a few days before Christmas, and we had no school. Mom had to stay home with us, so she had Dad pick up the candy and presents for our stockings. Stockings were a big deal to us (still are), we would get mixed nuts (the kind you had to crack) chocolate santas and bells, little gifts, like bracelets, barrettes, or other trinkets. We loved our stockings!

Since mom had to stay home, she asked dad to pick up the stocking gifts. My dad, not having ANY idea as to what she was talking about since he was usually still in bed when we got up to open the stockings, asked her what she was talking about. She said "The stocking stuffers! The candy and stuff we put in their STOCKINGS!!!" So he hung up the phone and went shopping. He had no clue as to what she wanted, but she said "candy", so he bought candy.

The next morning, all 5 of us were pulling down our stockings and yanking out.....handfuls of SUCKERS! Not big ones, but the little safety-pops that you would get at the doctors office! Baby suckers! No orange in the toe, no chocolate Santa, no nuts, no trinkets, just suckers. Mom told us that Santa was out of the regular treats by the time he got to our house, and that's all he had left. But she made sure she bought those stocking stuffers WAY in advance in the years to come! Linda

--Another Story--

Christmas was modest at our house. My Dad was a small Midwest farmer. He raised cattle and sheep. I was six and a passionate horse lover. I had horse pictures, horse toys, pajamas with horses on, a cowgirl outfit complete with guns and was an avid fan of Fury on TV. In my imagination I owned that horse, and I spent hours "riding" him around the pastures. Of course when I was asked what I would like for Christmas, the answer was a horse, preferably black. As we had a barn with hay, straw, and oats, I felt this to be a logical wish. As Christmas drew closer my mother gave me hints. She said I would have to be responsible, I would have to do chores, and yes the gift was ALIVE! I was so excited, I knew my Fury was in the barn just waiting for me. When Christmas Eve came and we were opening gifts I couldn't wait for my turn, for I was sure I would soon be riding my beautiful black horse, with the long mane and tail. The fact that I did not know how to ride a horse did not matter. I cautiously opened my present, knowing there was a note to go to the barn, or perhaps the box contained a bridle. My mother had such a look of excitement on her face, I opened the present..........I was speechless......... inside was a PARAKEET! I could hardly believe it. I knew I had to be appreciative for the gift, and we were taught to always find something nice to say. I said the bird was a very pretty green. Needless to say it was a Christmas I will never forget. Diane from Minnesota

--Another Story--

Here is a follow up to the story I submitted last summer asking readers if they could help me find a pasta sauce pot like my Mom had in Chicago.

She passed away over 20 years ago and no one had seen it since. My Father passed away last January and my family started cleaning out the house.

Well after much searching and nighttime dreams of finding the pot, my brother located it and it arrived in Seattle a month ago.

I placed that pot on my stove waiting for it to "talk" to me and it never did. I remembered all of the Mondays when she made sauce. You could smell it all the way down the block. Time came to make spaghetti sauce and I hesitated using my Mom's pot and grabbed my old one. I placed the same amount of ingredients I always use in my pot and it was overflowing (not sure why). So I added olive oil and garlic to my Mom's pot, without much thought and divided the ingredients, creating 2 full pots of sauce. Well, not too long into cooking, those pots started to argue, splashing sauce across my stove and floor. Never saw anything like it. I turned off my old pot and my Mom's pot calmed down and did not splash (just like at my Mom's house-----I never saw it go over the top. ) The minute I turned the other pot back on to get it going again both started bubbling over.

I talked to my brother after this incident and he sadly told me that my Mom hated it when I was cooking in her kitchen. (I was going to school to become a certified Chef and thought with 9 family members I was helping--I was only a teenager.) She used to go into the bedroom and be angry. (I wish I had known-- I was working restaurants at night and going to school--I would have taken a nap instead!!) I told him, I believed this Pot wanted to go back to Chicago to be with the family and not be in Seattle with me, so I will be sending the Pot back to Chicago. After waiting 20+ years and this was all I ever wanted to remember my Mom. Oh well.

Anyone else have house items with the old owners energy? Margie

--Another Story--

I grew up in a small rural Wisconsin community in a family of 11 children at the time (now there are 17 of us). We were very poor and made ALL of our food (even lard) so naturally we worked very hard. Each Christmas we made homemade ice cream and Dad made his "annual" favorite fudge for us using the nuts we had grown and remembering the many hours of cracking nuts in preparation for our winter treats. We all worked together to make our ice cream and I remember the pies Mom (with the help of us girls) made and the favorite cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I don't know how Mom and Dad managed to give us each a toy for Christmas but I remember we each got one. We all would wake up Christmas morning and make a dash for the presents to figure out who got what. It was so exciting. After the gifts were opened, we would sit around and sing Christmas carols. Then it was off to do the chores before the Christmas morning Church service. These were very special times for us.

--Another Story--

It was in Dec. 1998 when my father was in the hospital and a lady from his church presented him with a poinsettia plant. I kept the plant alive for dad that Winter and in the Spring, I replanted it into a larger pot and placed it outside in the south side of the house. In the Fall, I placed the plant in a dark cool spot, watering it when dry and placing it into the sun in the day time. It didn't bear flowers but lots of leaves. When my dad passed away in 2000. I took the plant to my house, repeating every thing. Last year, 2007, it was huge, I had it planted in a bigger pot and the stock was 1" thick I had given it fertilizer once in a while and it had sat on the deck and watered with the garden hose. After a couple months in a dark basement with 8 hrs. of growing lights, I would bring it upstairs and the Christmas of 2007, it was beautiful. This Spring of 2008, I took it out to the deck again and started it over. Than it happened, we had taken a Fall trip and while we were gone, the temperature dropped and when we got home, there it was all turned to brown leaves. I said to my husband "that's ok, it was time", he carried the poor plant to the basement and under the growing lights, trimming away the dead branches. He gave it water and I thought it was foolish. One day, he called me down to the basement. "Look" he said, the poinsettia plant was covered with green leaves. Christmas 2009, I am sure the poinsettia will be again in bloom. Marge
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DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL? SEND IT TO PHIL@TIAS.COM
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We collect interesting stories about collecting. Things like your best find, unusual collections, bizarre collectibles. Anything and everything that is interesting that has to do with collecting. We may publish it here. Send your story to newsletter@tias.com
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3) Antique News
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News-Antique.com is now the #1 search result on Google for antique news. If you want to tell the world
about your antiques & collectibles business, auction, club or upcoming event related to the antiques and
collectibles trade, you can post it for free at http://www.News-Antique.com and we may post it here.
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Here are the latest news headlines about antiques and collectibles from http://www.News-Antique.com

Do you have antiques or collectibles you are just itching to sell? A simple classified ad in this newsletter might just be your answer. Over 15,000 readers subscribe to this newsletter. One of them just might be able
to help you out. Place your ad today at: http://tinyurl.com/39eulu

6) Funny Old Stuff
This is our humor section. These are humorous family stories and comments that are sent in by readers. If you have a submission you would like to share, please send it to newsletter@tias.com and we may run it in the next issue.
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About 10 years or so ago I had some friends over and we were painting my house. My daughter, who has Down's Syndrome and is mentally challenged, was in the house. Imagine our surprise when a police car and the fire medics pulled into my drive. When I asked the problem they responded that the 911 dispatcher had received a call from a child saying her daddy was dead. It was hard to keep from laughing as I explained to them who had made the call and that she was right - her daddy was dead. He'd died several years before. Her school had been teaching about dialing 911. God bless, Mary Ellen

--Another Story--

When my daughter, Nancy, was little she and her brother went to a local church for Sunday School....a bus picked them up and brought them back each Sunday. One day I got a telephone call from Nancy's SS teacher asking for a meeting to discuss a picture Nancy had drawn in Sunday School. It seems they were discussing the 10 Commandments and had printed each out, cut them apart, folded them and put them in a hat, and then let each child draw one out. They were to memorize the Commandment and then draw a picture depicting it. Now, I had done the school meetings with Nancy's teachers, but never Sunday School teacher meetings! All I could think of was that my darling, precious, sweet child must have gotten the "Oh no, not that one" Commandment. The teacher wouldn't discuss it over the phone, so I made the appointment to go "talk" with her, and with much dread walked into her classroom, sat down on one of the "little people" chairs and she proceeded to tell me that indeed Nancy had drawn out the "thou shall not commit adultery" Commandment. There I sat sweating and wondering what on earth Nancy had done....when the teacher put a framed picture in front of me....on it were two apple trees...red apples and green leaves and brown trunks....One was larger than the other and underneath was written...."baby tree" and "Adult tree".....The teacher still has that drawing hanging in her Sunday School classroom and treasures it....Nancy is now 40 years old and has her first child....I hope one day he brings her as much joy as she has me!! Judi
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We need stories for our humor section. Tell us some funny, family related stories and we'll share them with our readers. Send them to newsletter@tias.com
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Do you have a funny family story you would like to share? Make someone feel good by sharing it with us. Send it to newsletter@tias.com and we may publish it here.
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In our last issue a Joyce requested a recipe for "corn meal dumplins" . We had one reply.
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I am not sure on the amounts so I may not be of help. I always cook collard or turnip greens in the water with the ham hock. I found a few recipes that comes close. Hope you find what you are looking for. Patty TN

Maury County Corn-Meal Dodgers for Pot Likker

1/2 pt. White corn meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
Large tablespoon melted lard (or shortening)
Cold water
Mix the meal and salt and add melted lard and enough cold water to form with the hand into small cakes about the size of a biscuit. Drop into the boiling pot licker, on the top of the greens, and cook for twenty minutes with cover on the pot. Serve around the greens. In middle Tennessee these corn dodgers, or dumplings, are called poorsouls."
---ibid (p. 236)

Finely chop greens and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place chopped greens on a hot platter and arrange slices of salt pork on top. Pour reserved liquid (about 1-1/2 cups) over greens and salt pork.

Makes 4 servings

Cornmeal Dodgers are frequently served with turnip greens and pot likker.

Corn Meal Dodger for "Pot Likker"

1/2 pt. Cornmeal
2 Tbsp. Melted shortening
1/2 tsp. Salt
Cold water

Add salt to cornmeal and stir in melted shortening. Add enough cold water for dough to hold its shape. Shape dough into pieces of biscuit size and drop into boiling pot likker. Boil in well covered pot for 20 minutes. Serve with the greens from the pot likker.

--Another Recipe--

Joyce requested a recipe for "Corn Meal Dodgers" which sounds a lot like my family's Corn Meal Dumplings. This was a standard family meal from the times when you only had what you grew. They grew the corn which was dried and ground into meal, and they raised the pigs which were slaughtered and processed into sausage, hams, and smoked meats to have throughout the year. Corn Meal Dumplings can be made using smoked ham hocks, ham trimmings, or nowadays I use fresh pork chops (the fatty kind that are hidden in the store under the "good layer" of chops). I start with chicken broth to add flavor, then add the chops, simmering until the meat is completely cooked (salt and pepper to taste). About 20 minutes before serving time, I mix corn meal (coarse ground works the best), salt, and enough water to make it stick together into patties. Turn the heat up on the pork chops so that it's strongly simmering but not boiling. Gently lay your first corn meal patties on the simmering broth and ladle broth over them until they sink down, then add more patties and repeat. When all of the patties are in, simmer on medium for about 15 minutes. Enough of the corn meal will join with the broth to make a nice "meal gravy". Serve in a wide bowl so you don't lose a single drop! Pam from SC
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If you enjoy these vintage recipes, you should buy a vintage cookbook from us. They make great gifts too. Take a look at: http://www.tias.com/cookbooks
Buy a Vintage Kitchen collectible from us. We've got lots of them here: http://www.tias.com/kitchen
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10) A vintage recipe request from a reader
As with collectibles, people also have very strong feelings about foods from their past. Sometimes these special recipes get lost. This section is to help people who are looking for lost recipes from their past. If you
submit a request, please include the geographical region where you had this recipe.
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My mom made the most fantastic stuffing (worked great for chicken or turkey/in or out of bird although best in bird). She never remembered how she made something so one time I watched and made notes. Since then I lost that notebook and I had only made this recipe once so it is long gone from the old memory bank. The main ingredients were a combination of Ritz and Saltine crackers, very carmalized onions (almost burned), small pieces of chicken liver, small amount of celery. I don't think there was any need for additional seasoning as the sweetness of the onions and the salt of the crackers permeated the dish. She might have added a bit of broth or chicken fat, but I don't recall for sure. So...if anyone has a recipe that uses the crackers (softened briefly in ??), onions, and chicken liver, please post in newsletter. Thank you.
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If you can help this reader with this recipe, please forward it to recipes@tias.com . If you have a vintage recipe request send it to recipes@tias.com and we might just publish it here.
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Be sure to check out our vintage kitchen collectibles section online at: http://www.tias.com/kitchen
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11) New Online Merchants
Be sure to check out all of the fresh inventory offered by these new merchants at TIAS.
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Cleopatra Giftshop
http://www.tias.com/stores/cleopatragiftshop
We are specialize in handmade and handpainted reproduction Egyptian papyrus paintings. Surprise your loved one with unique gifts. They're affordable for every budget and fit all occasions all over the year. Also surprise your visitors with unusual handmade reproduction Egyptian decorating.

Po' Man Shop
http://tias.com/stores/poman
Our inventory includes figurines, prints, afghans, collector's plates, and other artwork. Hopefully, they will touch the soul. Enjoy your shopping and let us know if you wish to make an offer on an item. We look forward to your visit.

LouisaMay Jewelry & Wonderful DoDads
http://tias.com/stores/louisamay
We offer vintage costume jewelry and mix in some fine jewelry pieces too. Then we add wonderful DoDads, a DoDad is anything wonderful. The only things I offer you are things and pieces I love.

J&J Junque, Collectibles & Antiques
http://tias.com/stores/jnjjca
Our goal is to provide you with exceptional service while offering unique and hard to find items! Please visit our shop often. We appreciate your business and want to you to be a repeat customer.
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This year, open your own online Antique & Collectible Shop. If you have one or a few items to sell, try our classifieds at http://www.tiasexchange.com. If you have more than a few items to sell, open your own store at TIAS. It's easy and fun. Over 160,000 customers visit us on an average day. It costs you nothing to get started. Take a look at: http://www.makeashop.com
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4. Looking for prices for antiques and collectibles? PriceMiner.com has millions of them. Most items listed include color photos as well. Sign up today at: http://tinyurl.com/c6oqc (Not affiliated with Kovels.com)